May 18 #Options | High & Unusual Volume: Stocks & ETFs

The power of options lies in their versatility as they present a world of opportunity to sophisticated investors (see the 32Trades version of “Options 101“). This versatility, however, does not come without its costs and, despite what anybody tells you, option trading involves risk, especially if you don’t know what you are doing. It’s for this reason why ONLY risk capital should ever be used.

One easy way to get a feel for options, or even bank on them, is to “follow the money.”

The lists below are the highest volume options traded today. When looking into one, visit StockCharts or your trading platform to pull up the chart so you can visualize and track the divergences, PPS spikes, and get a feel for why the volume was so high and if it is one you might want to track.

Top 10 Stock Options Traded

Symbol

Type

Strike

Exp Date

Last

Volume

OI

IV

KGC

Put

4

6/16/2017

0.14

96,431

565

51.91%

BUD

Call

130

8/18/2017

1.45

60,345

134

22.98%

AAPL

Call

155

5/19/2017

0.09

50,116

56,340

23.40%

AAPL

Call

152.5

5/19/2017

0.69

46,199

27,070

20.66%

PFE

Call

32

1/19/2018

1.76

45,720

59,914

14.19%

BAC

Call

23

5/19/2017

0.07

45,219

91,417

35.38%

BUD

Call

135

8/18/2017

0.80

40,100

130

24.05%

BABA

Call

120

6/16/2017

4.86

35,900

21,092

32.04%

P

Call

15

1/19/2018

0.19

35,698

51,572

44.19%

AAPL

Call

155

6/16/2017

2.35

33,616

81,771

20.54%

Top 10 ETF Options Traded

Symbol

Type

Strike

Exp Date

Last

Volume

OI

IV

SPY

Put

236

5/19/2017

0.43

118,099

87,729

15.52%

SPY

Put

235

5/19/2017

0.22

106,568

184,929

17.07%

SPY

Call

237

5/19/2017

0.46

98,397

61,475

11.42%

IWM

Put

135

5/19/2017

0.42

87,668

166,575

21.34%

IWM

Call

135

5/19/2017

0.64

69,062

118,499

13.58%

SPY

Put

237

5/19/2017

0.85

68,997

116,723

14.71%

QQQ

Put

137

5/19/2017

0.26

62,649

48,023

13.53%

SPY

Put

236.5

5/19/2017

0.61

61,526

25,361

14.97%

VXX

Put

15

5/19/2017

0.04

61,406

64,196

76.95%

SPY

Call

236

5/19/2017

1.10

60,971

81,680

12.02%

Unusual Options Activity

Provides insight on what “smart money” is doing with large volume orders. Option volume that exceeds open interest signals new positioning.